Another Moment in Time
by hester4418
Summary: Shore leave with his wife and daughter stirs up long-forgotten memories for Jean-Luc Picard. This piece evolved as an epilogue to my story "A Moment in Time", but it can also be seen as an additional scene/epilogue for my other story "Choices".


DISCLAIMER: _Star Trek: The Next Generation _and all its characters belong to Paramount Pictures; no infringement of copyright is intended. The story however belongs to me.

Author's Note: This story was inspired by Jordan Trevor's review for "A Moment in Time".

**Another Moment in Time  
****by Hester (hester4418)****  
**

The day was sunny and warm. But then, so was every day on Risa.

The _USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D_ was currently parked in a standard orbit above the renowned holiday planet. Only a skeleton crew remained aboard as most officers took advantage of this long-overdue shore leave opportunity. Among those beaming down were Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his wife Beverly Crusher, as well as their three-year-old daughter Yvette.

Risa featured many attractions, including beach resorts, jungle expeditions, and various amusement parks, but the Picards had opted for a quiet family picnic in a public park at the outskirts of one of the larger settlements. They were not the only ones there, but there was enough room for everyone to have as much or as little privacy as they wished.

Beverly spread a large blanket in the shade of a tall tree with wide, overhanging branches. Little Yvette eagerly helped to unpack their picnic basket and soon sat munching on a sandwich, with a pile of cookies on a plate waiting to be devoured next.

Jean-Luc leaned back against the tree trunk, sighing contentedly.

His wife looked up and smiled. "Admit it, Jean-Luc. You _are _enjoying this."

He smiled back. "Much as I hate to say so, yes. It's just what the doctor ordered."

"At least you didn't argue this time." She leaned over and softly kissed him on the lips.

"How could I, with those eyes pleading with me?" He nodded in Yvette's direction. Even after three years, he was still full of wonder whenever he looked at her. "She has your eyes, do you know that?"

"Is that why you can never say no to her?" Beverly teased.

"Probably." He leaned in further, kissing her again. There had been a time when he'd thought that loving Beverly, and being loved by her in return, was the best thing that ever happened to him. He'd had to revise that opinion after the birth of his daughter, who had given him more joy than he would ever have thought possible. Together, these two females had made him a different, happier man.

Oblivious to her parents' conversation, Yvette was carefully dipping each of her cookies into a glass of milk before shoving them into her mouth. As soon as the last one was gone, she gulped down the remaining milk and then scrambled to her feet. "Can I go play now?" Her eyes strayed longingly to a nearby group of children who were setting up a croquet-type game.

Jean-Luc smiled indulgently. "Of course, Chérie. But stay where we can see you."

"Oui, Papa!" She gave him a quick hug and a kiss, then turned back to also drop a kiss on her mother's cheek. A second later, she sped across the grass to join the other children and was soon caught up in their game.

Jean-Luc absentmindedly watched his daughter, trying to grasp at a fleeting memory that had suddenly risen in his mind.

Beverly laughed. "Oh, she knows exactly how to handle you. Just one word in French, and you'll agree to anything."

"What?" Startled out of his thoughts, it took him a moment to absorb the meaning of her words. Then he shook his head. "Oh, every child deserves to be spoilt a little. But that's not it. I... I just remembered something." He settled back against the trunk of the tree and accepted the beverage Beverly handed him, taking a large gulp before continuing. "When I was still a cadet, on my last day of shore leave, my friends and I had arranged to meet at a park much like this one. It was a beautiful day, and I was taking my time getting there, just enjoying the sun and the feeling of freedom." He paused briefly, recalling the sensation. "When I got to the park I couldn't find my friends at first. But someone found me." He looked at Beverly. "A small girl, about Yvette's age, approached me and asked if I could help her find her parents."

She couldn't help chuckling. "A park full of people and she picks _you_?"

He chuckled as well. "Exactly my thoughts. And I would gladly have sent her on her way, but there was something about her... She wasn't shy, or afraid, not even scared of being lost. It was as if she'd made a scientific analysis − I'm lost, I need help. Now who looks like he could help me?"

Beverly covered his hand with hers. "Actually, that sounds like something Yvette might do."

Jean-Luc smiled ruefully. "She's been around scientists too much."

"Maybe. So did you help her?"

His thoughts shifted back to the past. "Yes, I did. I couldn't just leave her standing there. And she... trusted me. Just like that."

"It was probably the uniform," Beverly ventured. "Even small children know you can generally trust Starfleet personnel."

Another piece of the memory came back to him and he laughed. "Oh no, she had no idea about the uniform. In fact, she asked me why I was wearing pajamas."

"Pajamas?" Beverly laughed as well. "I wonder what Starfleet Command would have said to that."

"It could be one explanation for the many changes and redesigns over the years," he suggested, still chuckling.

Yvette came running up to them, asking for a drink. As soon as she'd gulped down some water, she was off again, long red hair streaming behind her.

Jean-Luc watched as she ran away and then turned back to his wife, about to make another comment. However, when her blue eyes met his, he suddenly felt like he'd been transported back through time. He stared at her, too shocked to speak, until she reached out and gently shook his arm.

"What's wrong, Jean-Luc? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He blinked, twice, and finally found his voice. "It was you," he whispered, covering Beverly's hand on his arm and squeezing it.

She frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Jean-Luc looked back and forth between his wife and the retreating form of his daughter. "The little girl − once we'd found her parents, I asked her her name, and she said 'Beverly'. And the planet was Arvada III." He refocused on her face, intently searching the bright blue eyes he loved so much. "It was you, Beverly, I'm sure of it. All those years, and I never noticed."

Beverly shook her head, obviously having trouble making sense of his words. "But I don't remember..."

"You were only about three years old."

"Three years... The Arvada colony wasn't destroyed until a few years later, so the timing could indeed by right." She looked up with sudden interest. "You said you met her − or my − parents?"

Jean-Luc shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I merely saw them from afar." Beverly looked disappointed. He knew that she didn't remember much about her parents since they had died when she was still very young. Hoping to steer her thoughts into a different direction, he said, "But there was a dog. He was the one who'd got you into trouble by running away."

"I had a dog?" Beverly once again looked doubtful.

Jean-Luc slowly shook his head once more. "No, he wasn't yours. He belonged to a neighbor by the name of... Chrissy? Christine?"

"Christy?" Beverly's eyes widened. "Her family moved to Caldos with us. We kept in contact for while, but then they moved on to somewhere else. I don't remember a dog, though."

"He was quite the little rascal," Jean-Luc smiled fondly. Another part of the long-ago conversation came back to him, and he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "You also told me a secret."

"My, you really must have made an impression on me," Beverly mocked her husband, but he just continued smiling enigmatically. "All right. What was it?"

"You didn't like doctors!"

At his triumphant grin, Beverly burst out laughing. "I bet almost no child does. What did you reply?"

"I said, neither did I," he confessed, only to add quickly, "but you know how that opinion has changed since then."

"Good save," she murmured, turning away to look for Yvette, but he had seen the corner of her mouth twitch with amusement.

Jean-Luc pondered the extraordinary circumstances of that first meeting many, many years ago. He knew he'd fallen in love with Beverly the moment he'd first seen her as an adult, when their mutual friend Walker Keel had introduced her to himself and his best friend Jack Crusher. Now he wondered if he hadn't know even then, on some subconscious level, that she was the fearless little girl who had managed to impress him like no other. For several weeks after the encounter, she had spooked through his head, her long red hair, piercing blue eyes and bright smile reflecting in the faces of other children he'd seen, and he'd even found himself contemplating the possibility of one day having a daughter as bright and inquisitive as little Beverly. Over the years though, her image had faded from his mind, and his solitary bachelor's life had rekindled his discomfort around children − until Yvette had come along and had turned his life upside down.

"Beverly," he said.

She turned to him and then scooted over to his side. "What is it, Jean-Luc?"

He draped his arm around her shoulders and smiled. "I love you."

She leaned in and kissed him. And as he kissed her back, he silently thanked the fates for bringing them together, not just once, but again and again, until he'd finally realized that he was incomplete without her. And in allowing her into his life, he'd received the greatest gift of all, something he'd given up all hope of ever having − a family, and the daughter whose existence had been foreshadowed at a long-ago moment in time.

-==/ The End \==-


End file.
